Front-end Editing in MODX with Fred

Today we’re happy to announce the first official release of our free, open source, visual drag-and-drop content editor for MODX.

By Ryan Thrash  |  Updated: March 28, 2019  |  3 min read
Front-end Editing in MODX with Fred

In July 2018, we announced our work on a visual drag-and-drop front-end editor for MODX, Fred. Today we’re happy to launch with its first release officially.

Fred in Action

Our goal for Fred was to advance how MODX users can create content fundamentally—to make building websites more efficient, empowering, and fun. After working in Fred on the new modx.com site since the last announcement (coming soon), we’re confident we’ve hit the mark.

What makes Fred different?

We think Fred sets a new standard for MODX’s legacy of creative freedom. It far surpasses the power and flexibility of any visual content builder or theme system on any platform. It also supports any HTML framework including Bootstrap, Foundation, or whatever else you wish.

Layouts that previously took dozens of custom fields (TVs), sub-pages, or form fields can be created from the front-end intuitively and without extensive training.

To address our always critical standards for performance, Fred renders and caches its pages as clean markup without any cruft when pages are saved. Fred-powered sites are blazing fast and only output exactly what you want.

Fred’s Elements and Option Sets—the layout blocks used to create pages and their respective controls to configure them—use Twig for logic, variables, and conditional layouts. Elements can also contain MODX Snippets; when coupled with thoughtful Option Sets, working with complex layouts is simple for non-technical users. For example, you can have a slider control the number of articles shown on a blog landing page, complete with real-time updates as the slider moves.

It’s the way content creation should be.

Fred also supports Plugins to extend its functionality, with an icon picker and rich text editor available today. In an upcoming release, we will work to make creating Fred Plugins straightforward and well-documented for developers.

Who is Fred for?

Fred makes sense for many types of MODX users. We think it will initially gain traction for a few use cases:

  • Theme authors and designers can use Fred to make incredibly robust and flexible themes agencies and end-users can use to create visually compelling websites quickly. This should provide a foundation for a great MODX theme ecosystem.
  • Enterprises with design libraries. These organizations can convert their static libraries into living and dynamic content building tools that make creating landing pages and new content a breeze.
  • Digital agencies can use Fred to create more intuitive interfaces for their customers, empowering them to visually experience the changes in the front-end as they work on their sites.

Start Using Fred Today

The easiest way to get a feel for Fred is to explore the demo theme available from the MODX Installer. Or, learn how to start creating your own custom themes with Fred:

We hope you enjoy Fred and can’t wait to see what you create. #CreateWithFred